It's 2012. Time to kick off the New Year in High Gear and perhaps part of your New Year's resolution is to kick YOUR SKIN HEALTH into High Gear!

So that may mean many things...eating better, excercising more, or simply drinking plenty of H20. But many of us in addition to the aforementioned are looking for something else, or rather, reflexing on something else - our lackluster and/or problematic skin.

Now more than ever, there has been an increased awareness of advanced eletrical modalities and their benefits and clients want in on it. We've all heard these names before, 'Microdermabrasion' and 'Microcurrent' - but what do they really mean? More importantly, which one should you consider getting?

These two modalities though similar in name (by their first four letters) and in premise, work on a finer scale, they are quite different and perform different functions. Below is a mini at-a-glance at what they do.

Microdermabrasion:

Also referred to as mechanical exfoliation or micro-resurfacing, is a cosmetic technique that uses a mechanical medium for exfoliation along with adjustable suction to remove the outermostlayer of dead skin cells from the epidermis. It is a non-invasive procedure, which is performed in-office by a trained skincare professional.

Benefits:

Microdermabrasion may be performed to decrease the appearance of superficial hyperpigmentation, photo-damage, diminish fine lines, reduce the appearance of wrinkles, and shallow acne scars. Removing the dead skin will aid in the penetration of skin care products by up to 50% and make-up will go on much more smoothly.

Microcurrent:

This non-surgical, non-invasive treatment focuses on physically firming, lifting, toning, stimulating collagen and enhancing hydration to the skin through muscle re-education. An accessory such as probes or electric gloves are used to physically move the muscle into the desired position to perform what is known as muscle re-education; the process of lengthening or shortening muscles. Muscle re-education is most related to the term “facial toning”.

There are 32 different muscles of the face that are manipulated during the average microcurrent facial treatment.

Microcurrent works on small amounts of electricity that mirrors the body's own natural current by stimulating facial muscles to bring more definition on areas that need it the most such as eyes, forehead, cheeks, neck and frown lines.

Hopefully this mini at-a-glance will help you to decide which modality is best suited for your current needs and concerns, Also, please note, as with any electrical modalities, there are people who may contraindicted to receiving these types of treatment. If you are interested in receiving this treatment, please contact your skin geeks professional who will have you fill out a complete, in-depth consultation card and go over the options as well as pre & post care instructions for your treatment.